A Disney Trip of a Lifetime... A trip to TDR, WDW, UOR, SWO, DLR - COMPLETED 12 March

[RachelleBeaney]

After getting settled in the gazebo and having our drinks order taken by the lovely Maddison (yes alcohol is free at Discovery Cove) we went and changed into our wet suits. It was quite a cold day (about 19 C or 69 F) and so we were a little worried about going in the water. Turns out that the water was warmer than the air (even in the animal pools!) so as long as we were in the pool it was fine!

We spent the first hour or so snorkeling around the Grand Reef. I personally can’t snorkel (I used to be able to as a kid but I have this fear of breathing through my mouth now) and so Jared went and bought me some goggles instead. Natalie, who had never been able to snorkel, even as a kid, decided she would give it a go and, to her surprise, mastered the craft! She was so happy and proud of herself and I think this was her favorite part of the whole day!

One thing I learnt from this trip is that I should NEVER wear goggles in photos! Look!





Ahh much better!



Natalie was very proud of her snorkeling efforts!



Jared just wanted to copy her I guess!



Ashley was taking all these pictures as he was hesitant to get in the water at first, given that he feels the cold the most of all of us, but when he eventually did he had to concede it was better in the water!

Before long it was time for our dolphin swim! I had a small freak out when I realized I’d left my ID tag in the bathroom’s when changing into my wet suit, so I ran (I mean ran) all the way to the check in desk (which is a long way from the grand reef) to get another copy so I would be allowed to do the dolphin swim, only to discover when I got to the check in tent they’d found my tag and I wouldn't have needed one anyway! Oh well, I exercised at least!

We go t in the water and met our gorgeous dolphin, Rascal. He was indeed a rascal and was very cheeky, egged on by his trainer of course. Apparently he was the only dolphin in the resort that could waggle his tongue, which he did, a lot! It was very cute. Our first pictures were our kissing photos! Natalie had warmed up to Rascal by this point – she looks like she’s really enjoying the dolphin kiss!



I think this one is ‘did I really just kiss a dolphin’!




We all posed with Rascal next, I love this photo of Natalie!


Now it was my turn. I absolutely love dolphins, have ever since I was a child and I love these precious interactions with these beautiful creatures!



See I love him!



He was being cute here, I think, hence my face!



During my side pose with him I think I was trying to lift him from underneath – either way it looks awkward doesn't it!



I could swear that every time Jared kisses a dolphin (this is our third time doing a dolphin swim) the dolphin seems to look happier! What does he do to the poor things!



This is Jared’s awww face!







Now it was Ashley’s turn!





Ashley was in for a bit of a laugh during his interaction with Rascal as the trainer made sure to ask Rascal how his kiss with Ashley was, to which Rascal did his famous tongue wiggle and we all laughed. I think this next picture was around that time – though the position of Ashley and the dolphin is just hilarious and completely not PG!



Ahh, this is better, more family friendly!



Then we all had a shot with this amazing creature!



Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

After our whole group got their pictures with Rascal (there was 8 of us in one group) we went onto the most excited part of the interaction, a short dolphin swim. The first time I did this I was terrified, and I think Natalie was a little anxious about this part of the interaction, but she ended up having a great time. Rascal was so gentle, though you could feel how powerful he is when it cost him no effort to drag you through the water!



















After the swim we watched Rascal do a few more behaviors, learnt a little about dolphins and why they are so magnificent, strong and beautiful, and we learnt some hand signals and signaled Rascal to do a few splashes and jumps! This was the official end of the interaction; however, thanks to the special occasion package I booked, there was one more thing the trainer decided to show us. She told us how the dolphins are given ‘toys’ to help stimulated them and said she needed a strong participant to help take a toy from Rascal that he would bring over. She asked Natalie, who was surprised to be picked, but not as much as when Rascal bought over a buoy with the words “Happy Birthday Natalie” on it! The look on Natalie’s face was priceless and exactly what I hoped for that moment! See for yourselves!







Afterwards Natalie went to give the buoy back and was further surprised when she was told she could keep it, as a present from the dolphins for her birthday! She was then bought a bag with the present I’d picked for her – a stuffed dolphin teddy (all part of celebration package) and we proceeded to the photo booths to pick all our photos for free!





After the dolphin swim it was lunch time so we went over to the free cafeteria to get some food (yes breakfast and lunch is included in the price, as is all the gear – wet suit, snorkel etc – I forgot to mention that we ate breakfast before checking in with guest services that morning!). This was probably the coldest part of the day as we were out of the relatively warm water (even though it is actually not that warm at all, at least the animal pools are not kept warm) and the wind had kicked up! The food is ok, nothing wonderful but not bad either, and of course free so we weren't complaining.

After lunch we made our way to the warm water side of the park, which we were dying to get to since we were so cold. I believe they keep those pools around 30C or 86F which was great on such a cold day! I love the tropical pools at the park! They are so beautifully landscaped, so lush, tropical and so inviting! That afternoon we explored the Freshwater Oasis, the Windaway River and Serenity Bay. First up was the Freshwater Oasis, where you can swim around an island covered with gorgeous marmosets and into a cavern with an cute otter pool just on the other side of a glass enclosure!











After exploring the Freshwater Oasis we spent a lot of time in Serenity Bay and the Windaway River.

Serenity Bay first:







Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

This area is just so beautiful, especially the Windaway River. You float through a secluded tropical area, a bird aviary and more as a gentle current pushes you along. You can even grab flotation noodles so you have no work to do at all! It’s so relaxing and peaceful. I think the entire slow amble takes about 20 mins or so and we did it twice so we spent almost an hour in there!







While we swam through the beautiful Windaway River we came across a photographer! So of course I insisted we get some photos!





When we were finally done with the freshwater side of the park we headed back over to our gazebo and found our photos had been delivered to us! Also Maddison had set up this gorgeous birthday display!


I even got a Happy Birthday sign as my birthday had been 4 days previous! The basket contained a number of snacks to go along with the drinks in our mini-fridge and so we all sat for a while and relaxed with some food and drink!

Natalie and Jared decided to go back in the reef and do some more snorkeling. They had a great time, and spent lots of time watching the sharks through the glass at one end of the reef (you can watch them under the water and it looks like they are swimming just next to you – eekk!). I decided that I’d had enough swimming for one day and I was enjoying lounging in the gazebo so I stayed put and took a million photos of Jared and Natalie enjoying the reef!



They are such a couple of posers! So cute though!



Proof Natalie can snorkel!







I really like this photo!







This is their ‘ok this is a good picture, now stop taking photos’ pose!



But I had to get one more!



We all went off to the showers after that, deciding we’d relax for a little longer in the gazebo and then take off. While I was on my way to the showers Maddison caught up with me. She had a birthday buoy in her hand and it said Happy Birthday Rachelle! She told me she knew I’d planned this whole wonderful day and the special occasion package as a surprise for my sister but that I’d just had a birthday too and Discovery Cove wanted to acknowledge that! She also mentioned I was such a great sister for organizing all this for Natalie! It was the sweetest thing and possibly one of my favorite moments of the trip. Not because anything huge or wonderful happened, but because I was given a birthday surprise and thanked for all the work and planning I’d put into the trip! Since I am always the one who plans everything in my family (which I enjoy) I am never the one getting surprised and so I really enjoyed that, but more so than that it was nice to be recognized for the hard work I put in, even if it was by a stranger! I’d sort of felt up to that point that Natalie and Ashley hadn't appreciate that work, though after that day I would realize I was wrong as they both thanked me profusely for such a wonderful day and trip! I sometimes wish I was a better person and didn't want the accolades; however, I always do! Well from family at least!

When I got back to the gazebo to show Natalie my birthday buoy she decided we needed to have a little photo shoot with them (yes, it was her idea – she was really happy by this point!)





We then decided to swap buoys and look super surprised that the other had received one! Silly, but fun!





We left not long after this, after doing a little bit of shopping. Natalie wanted a turtle for her turtle ornament collection that she started on her honeymoon, when she and Ash took a cruise around the Caribbean. On our way out we took some pictures with the Discovery Cove sign. Excuse the just showered no make-up look!











That concludes the Orlando portion of our trip. Looking back, despite some of the issues, it was a truly wonderful family trip that I will always remember! I was so happy to be able to experience all Orlando has to offer with my sister and brother-in-law! Jared and I were really looking forward to having some ‘us’ time at the Disneyland Resort though!

Continued in the next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

I hope you enjoy a few screen grabs of the Tokyo-Anaheim Photobook I am currently working on (not quiet finished yet). I always create photobooks of all the holidays Jared and I take, and important weddings and events. It's such a great way to display your photography and to show people all your holiday pictures in a way that's neither boring or tedious! They can even pour over the books at their own pace, fast or slow, taking in the whole theme you've created for each page quickly or taking their time to study every photo. I wanted to share some screen captured shots of the pages with you (they will be printed A3 put due to the nature of the screen grabs you probably won't get the details of each photo, just the overall feel, but then again you will have seen all the photos in the trip report)! I figured you guys might be interested in hearing about how I immortalize my holiday memories (other than in trip reports) and maybe see if it's a creative avenue you would enjoy exploring. A warning, it can get expensive (my holiday books always seem to cost bewteen $250 - $300 - the two companies I use are Australian one's - xbook.com.au and 123cheese.com.au - sometimes however you can find discounts and deals on websites like scoopon or, if your signed up to the companies website, from the companies themselves. The photos are displayed in the order they appear in the book (including the front cover) and will be shown in three parts.

































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Continued in next installment...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Photobook Tokyo and Anaheim portion of the trip...Part 2



















































Continued in next installment...

 

[Dizzy4DL]

I've really been enjoying your report, can't wait for you to get to "my park".

 

[RachelleBeaney]

I've really been enjoying your report, can't wait for you to get to "my park".

Thanks I know, I live nowhere near Disneyland yet I too feel like it's 'my park'. It's the one I've visited the most and the one I feel the most affinity towards. I am planning on starting the Disneyland updates later today, so excited too, but I just wanted to stop and post some of the photobook pages in the interim to give everyone something to look at today

 

[RachelleBeaney]

We started the 25 November in Orlando and finished it at the Disneyland Resort! I have to say that the time difference between Orlando and LA is a killer on the way over because you lose 3 hours, but it is great to gain those 3 on the way back. Our flight left Orlando at 9:30am and arrived in LA just before lunchtime. I believe we arrived at our hotel, the Paradise Pier Hotel, at about 1:30pm. We had decided to stay on property for the very first time this visit. Usually I can’t justify the extra dollars staying on property means but over the Thanksgiving week I could, given the extra time we’d get in the parks thanks to early opening (and how else would we do Radiator Racers). When we arrived at the hotel and went to check in we were greeted by a super friendly CM whose name now unfortunately escapes me (I knew we filled in an excellent service card for her but I never wrote her name down!). She went to give us 1st visit badges (I guess she assumed since we were Aussie’s we’d never been to Disneyland before) so when I corrected her she promptly changed the 1st part of the badge to 3rd. She then asked if we were celebrating anything during our stay, and so I launched into a spiel about my birthday and our Disney Trip of a Lifetime to celebrate it as well as how we’d planned to celebrate our anniversary back in October at Disneyland because that’s where we went on our honeymoon! I was so excited to be at the Disneyland Resort staying on property for the very first time that I went on and on, even mentioning that we never received “Just Married” button’s on our honeymoon. Our lovely CM excused herself and reappeared a few minutes later with a Happy Birthday badge for me, a “Just Married” badge for us both (since we never got one, though she wrote 4 years ago on the badge) and a Happy Anniversary Badge for us both, this to go along with the 3rd visit badges she’d made! It was so adorable. I wore the anniversary and birthday badges around the parks and Jared started off wearing the anniversary and 3rd visit buttons but people kept asking him if he was enjoying his first visit, clearly not reading the altered badge, so he gave up on that badge!



The simple act of gifting us with so many badges to celebrate our stay had made me so happy, but our wonderful CM friend had one more surprise in store. She begun to inform me that the resort couldn't accommodate my request for a King Room (I had wondered if they would be able to given that it was Thanksgiving week) but to make up for this we had been upgraded to a theme park view room! When our CM asked if that was ok, I believe I pretty much squealed in excitement!. I would have booked a theme park view but the extra almost $200 per night was unjustifiable on a trip where we’d already spent $500-$600 a night on rooms at the Miracosta. I had then hoped, or maybe dreamed, that we might get upgraded to a theme park view room at the Paradise Pier Hotel, but always knew it was a super long shot, so I tried to tell myself to not think about it or wish for it when it was so unlikely! Yet here we were, my wildest dream turned to reality. I honestly don’t think the Disneyland Resort could have given me a better birthday gift! And though I know it was probably due to overbooking over Thanksgiving I was nonetheless so grateful! After this revelation I was giddy and impractical for the next few hours! Jared and I were told the room was ready so we went up and when we arrived we found it had not yet been cleaned. To give you an idea of how happy we were even the unclean room could not take away my happy floaty feeling. The cleaner was just in the next room and asked us if she could come in a clean in a few minutes. She was little put out when we told her the check in desk had told us the room was ready however when we explained to her we truly did not mind leaving for a while she seemed happier. We told her we would head our shortly but just needed to change our awful plane clothes and then the room was all hers. Later when we got back to the room we took some shots of it and the view but it makes more sense to show you now so I will. This was the room that awaited us (after being cleaned of course)





Aren’t the beach ball cushions such an adorable touch!







And this was the view that awaited us! I almost cried when I saw how beautiful it was. Now a lot of people say that the Paradise Pier Hotel is a little lacking in Disney magic, perhaps because its theme is very simple, though it’s well executed, but I couldn't disagree more. While the Disneyland hotel, from what I've seen in pictures, has nicer rooms and grounds, the hotel itself is nothing special and further away from the parks (well if you consider how close the Grand California Hotel entrance is to Paradise Pier) and who goes to Disneyland to spend time at their hotel anyway. The Grand Californian is certainly grander but it’s a little too dark for my liking and its theme park views leave a bit to be desired so given all these considerations I think Paradise Pier holds its own against the other two Disney Resort hotels. Sure it’s rooms might not be as grand but they are well appointed and comfortable and the views, I think, are the best anywhere in the resort! We could see Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn all from our window as well as wonderful views over one of my favorite areas in both parks, Paradise Pier, and into Carsland! We could spot Grizzly Peak, Soarin’ and the Tower of Terror also! It was a like a buffet of Disneyland’s famous landmark attractions from your window!





















After a brief diversion in our wonderful room we were off to our next activity. What was that you ask? Well, my wonderful husband, who knows I love surprises and wanted me to be surprised by something on the holiday I planned, had booked massages for us at the Mandara Spa at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. Sadly, he’d left the details open on the phone we were using with our US SIM and I had seen the information when going into the phone to make a call, so I had an idea a massage had been booked, though I didn't know where. Jared was a little disappointed to learn that I knew (he’s so not careful with the details when trying to pull off a surprise, poor boy!) but had planned to tell me on the way down to the resort anyway. When he told me where we were having the massages I was truly surprised and awed as I knew how expensive and beautiful the Mandara Spa is! So we had a booking at 3pm and it was about 2pm by this stage so we had time to get some lunch over at the Grand California. We looked at all the restaurants but they all seemed to be closed, which was strange, so we ended up in the Hearthstone Lounge. It was a cute little area, a little casual which was good as we were dressed for the spa, and it served small appetizers we thought would be good as we weren't that hungry. Jared ordered the sliders and I ordered the chicken flatbread. It’s no secret who ordered the better meal, and it was me! The chicken flatbread was divine! Everything was so fresh and the flavors complimented each other perfectly. We don’t really have the concept of flatbreads here in Australia (woodfired pizza would be the closest thing we have) so I wasn't aware how light and delicious they could be! At this point my day had become near perfection and we had yet to have our 2 hour massage and facial!

Well, the massage and facial was divine! The Mandara Spa had the feel of a luxury spa without the snobbishness of it. Our masseuse's were excellent and so friendly and put us right at ease. The daycore was beautifully designed without being too prestigious and it relaxed you right away. The spa might be expensive but if you ever get a chance to have a treatment there you won’t regret it! We came out of our 2 hour experience totally relaxed and floating on a cloud of bliss from all the experiences of our first perfect day at our favorite Disney resort on earth! Sorry Disney World, but Disneyland Resort kicks is just so much better. Tokyo Disney is awesome beyond measure and the best in so many ways but don't hold the charm and wonder of Disneyland. Nothing can beat it!

After our massages we were in no mood to go anywhere or do anything, nor were we very hungry, so we decided to order room service and go to bed early in preparation for the next day. We took some photos of the sun setting over Paradise Pier, so beautiful!







Alas, the best laid plans will always go awry and we couldn't sleep thinking about how magical this day had been and when we saw the time we decided to wait up and watch World of Color – Winter Dreams. It was a great end to a wonderful day, though of course Winter Dreams doesn't come close to the original World of Color in my opinion (more on that later).













Such an interesting way to watch World of Color and another reason to LOVE the theme park view rooms at Paradise Pier.

Continued in next post...

 

[Dizzy4DL]

Oh my goodness! What a fantastic first day! My husband is a sweetie, but he would never think to book a surprise massage. How nice of yours to do that for you.

And seeing the pictures of the parks almost makes me swoon. I haven't been for exactly one year, and when I left the parks a year ago, I was sick as a dog from the flu. Now I just want to go back after seeing your pics.

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Oh my goodness! What a fantastic first day! My husband is a sweetie, but he would never think to book a surprise massage. How nice of yours to do that for you.

And seeing the pictures of the parks almost makes me swoon. I haven't been for exactly one year, and when I left the parks a year ago, I was sick as a dog from the flu. Now I just want to go back after seeing your pics.

Thanks so much, I'm so glad the pictures are so well received - I really write these things to give people a taste of the parks Don't worry more pictures will be coming really soon

Yes my husband is the sweetest man you'll ever meet! He's truly a keeper! I love that we discovered Disney parks together and have shared all experiences of them together!

Hope you get back to Disneyland soon. Sounds like you need a do-over from the last trip plus the resorts changed a lot in the last few years

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Our first day at Disneyland had arrived. We had ordered room service breakfast the night before to be delivered between 6am 6:30am and of course it came right on 6:30 so we got a late start to early entry at 7! Even still we had a successful morning of running between attractions. Space Mountain was down when we arrived so we headed to Space Mountain first. The wait was short and this was our first time experiencing the ride without the halloween overlay. It was enjoyable but slower than the other versions, though of course it's onride music adds much to the experience. We turned out an awesome ride photo but didn't have our photopass card yet so the CM gave us our photo number and told us we just had to return within 48 hours to get the picture.

After Space Mountain we went on Star Tours. I was happy to discover our journey would take us to Kashyyyk, which is the only planet Id not visited in all the trips Id done on this ride, so I was so excited that it finally came up. We also visited Naboo which has been an infrequent planet on our rides as well so we were very pleased! Finally we managed to get the Darth Vadar start (which is so much better than the Storm Trooper start) that we hadnt seen all trip so all in all we had a very pleasant and happy trip to a galaxy far far away!

After Star Tours we went to Indiana Jones to get FPs but the wait was only 15 minutes so we decided just to ride it. The whole thing felt darker than Tokyos version but not quite as grand somehow.





Afterwards we FPd Indy so we could do it again and went on our way to Main Street to pick up our Photopass Plus card. Once we had it we decided we must get some Photopass photos, so we did! These shots in front of the partners statue were so well done! Though it was busy (well for that time of morning, not as busy as it would be later) and people were everywhere we managed to get shots of us and the castle and statue without a single person in the way! I was really happy with them so you are about to see a million shots taken here (well ok a million may be exaggerating, but only a little!)











The next two were taken with our camera and I cant decide which did a better job!




After those shots we tried for some in-front of the castle. I show this next photo only because it managed to avoid people in the background, unfortunately the sun was just too damn bright to get any good ones right in front of the castle that morning and our lovely Photopass photographer told us to try around 3pm as the light would be its best.



This one worked because we didnt have to look at the sun!



Jared decided to have some fun with the camera next. It was amazing how not pressured we were, even during Thanksgiving week, to ride a million rides before everyone else! I suppose wed ridden a lot of these rides at Tokyo Disney at WDW but at the same time we really just wanted to soak up the beauty of Disneyland and wed already gotten our must-dos for the morning out of the way (well except Space Mountain which was down most of the day). Plus we knew we would have plenty of time over the next few days for attractions. We were just enjoying being at Disneyland, the true happiest place on earth!











Ahh the majestic matterhorn



We stumbled into Tommorowland to check if Space Mountain was up and running. It was not. So we took more photos!













I absolutely love this photo!





I believe after our photo shoot we headed back to Indiana Jones for another trip.

Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

On our way to Indy we saw this.



The Matterhorn is one ride I dont do at Disneyland because its rough as rough, and my back and neck do not like it, but I do have to say I love seeing it and it feels like every other Disneyland style park is missing something without it!

Jared took some time to post a letter (well not really, but it was a cute photo!)



After our second ride on Indy (we were relishing the chance to do this one as many times as we could as it was closed on our last visit!) we wandered on through Adventureland and New Orleans Square, heading in the general direction of Splash Mountain. I should mention that our easy going pace on this day was helped along by the fact that Space Mountain was down and Big Thunder Mountain was closed which left two less headliners to attempt.



I love this next photo  Its so cool how you can see the image distorted by the flame!



We weren't really interested in trying the Jingle Cruise but thought we should take a picture of it since it was a seasonal offering





Adventureland is, in my opinion, one of the most beautifully done areas in Disneyland (well I also love Fantasyland and New Orleans Square) and unlike some of the Adventurelands in other Disneyland parks has a true headliner in Indiana Jones. If only the area were slightly bigger I think it would be perfect. I love the more Hawaiian island colonial feel of the place as opposed to the are we in Asia or Africa or Polynesia feeling of the other Adventurelands. Though I suppose there is a certain northern African feel as well. Still it seems more cohesive to me than the other Adventurelands I've visited, especially Tokyo Disney (that incorporates New Orleans Square also!).

We made our way to one of the most beautiful vistas in the park; New Orleans Square and the Rivers of America. Ahh this area is just so beautiful! We often just sit with a drink at one of the cafés and enjoy the ambiance and people. Though usually at this time of morning the place would be peaceful it was Thanksgiving week, so there were a few more people than youd regularly see about by this time!





We walked straight on past Pirates of the Caribbean even though I was dying to ride it (later I told myself) as wed missed it on our last trip and it is the best version of the attraction anywhere! You can start to see the people all around in these next few photos






The Christmas decorations in New Orleans Square were my favorite of anywhere in the park! So beautiful and fun and different, I could really spend ages walking around New Orleans Square, especially during the Christmas season!

















It was at this point I decided that I was going to buy some ears. I've never much taken to the idea of ears (for one thing headbands always hurt me) but Id loved having my Marie beanie at Tokyo Disney and I just wanted to give this particular Disney tradition a go. I bought the sparkly sequined Minnie ears at a stand in New Orleans Square!



The wonderful CM at the stand then asked if Jared and I would like our picture taken in front of the Rivers of America. We didn't even ask, she just offered after we chatted for a while (mainly about how happy we were to be at Disneyland  a sentiment she completely understood, even though she was working!). She even lent Jared a sorcerer Mickey hat to wear in the photos!! These turned out to be some of my favorite shots of the two of us at Disneyland!.





Continued in next post...

 

[wiigirl]

Wonderful pics!

 

[RachelleBeaney]

We finally made it to Splash Mountain. It was about 10am at this point, so we’d been in the parks for just about 3 hours and it was starting to get really busy. However, Critter Country, as it always seems to be, was fairly quiet still and Splash Mountain only had a 10 minute wait. In all fairness it was a colder morning and no one likes to ride Splash in the morning but we thought we’d be smart and beat the crowds. Excuse the excessive amount of photos of Splash coming up, I just can’t resist shooting it from all angles and getting boat drops!















Turns out the 10 minute wait basically meant walk on so we were on the ride in no time. We were really happy to be put at the back of the boat, as I have memories of getting soaked in the front. Two things were learned during our zipady do dah ride though. The first is, if you’re short; don’t sit behind a tall person! I had a really tall man in the seat in front of me and so our ride photo was completely obscured by this guy with his arms in the air! I had put my ears on for the ride (and almost lost them too!) and was looking forward to a good ride photo. Alas all you could see was the ears and a little of Jared’s face! The second thing we learned was that while you get soaked on your top half in the front of the boat, your bottom half will get even wetter when you sit in the back. It seemed every time we went down a drop, big or small, the splash came over the edges of the boat and onto me. Our new rule then became to sit in the middle! It was a little annoying as while a T-shirt will dry in no time, jeans take much much longer! Oh well

We strolled past the home of 999 Happy Haunts next but walked on past. I really dislike the Nightmare before Christmas overlay of the mansion. I've tried it a few times to see if it would grow on me but it hasn't. It’s too cartoonish and doesn't really fit with the idea of a classic Haunted Mansion ride and so it seems so obviously out of place to me. Plus the garishness of it is too much for me. It’s not like the effects of the ride are really changed that much to match the theme. It seems weird to see ghosts in the ballroom or Madame Leota in the crystal ball while Oggie Boggy and Jack Skellington float around!



We were on our way to Fantasyland next but decided we need to take a break and re-coup. Plus we were hungry so we decided to have some second breakfast in New Orleans Square.


I got a little distracted when I saw Tiana out for a meet and greet



And by the time we found anywhere serving something we were interesting in eating we’d made our way into Frontierland.







This was what we ordered! Though I suppose it’s meant to be Mickey to me it looked a lot like a Koala!





I was not able to finish my entire pancake; I think my eyes were much bigger than my stomach! But it was great to have a short break overlooking the beautiful Rivers of America.

Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Wonderful pics!

Thanks! I'm really quite happy with how they came out! The trouble with having a husband who just gets better and better at taking pictures is that you have so many more photos to try and decide between once you get back and write your trip report! Hehe, silly complaint really, but I'm very proud of my husbands skills. He did his first wedding this year to for a friend and the photos turned out amazingly

 

[RachelleBeaney]

We were slowly making our way into Fantasyland but we kept getting distracted by photo opportunities. I've always seem a number of beautiful photos of the castle taken from the sides, especially as it reflects in the water and I wanted a few shots like this. As we came upon the castle I just had to hum when you wish upon a star. It just has that effect on me! I know its by no means as grand as the other Disney castles around the world but there is a charm and beauty to the sleeping beauty castle that I love and the grandness of the other castle lacks a little. And it sure looks beautiful with all its Christmas trimmings. Be prepared for a lot of photos of the icon of Disney. Try not to hum when you wish upon a star while looking at them, I tell you, its impossible!







It was at this point I remembered the gorgeous little owl status sitting in front of the castle and I decided to have some fun with him. Yes folks, I actually took these next few photos as crazy as that might sound. I was super proud of myself!









This may be my favorite shot of our whole trip. Look at that beautiful reflection!!









At this point the Disneyland band came out to do a show with a number of Disney characters just in front of the castle. Disneyland has the least amount of space to do these types of streetmosphere shows but they still do, unlike Walt Disney World where most every type of entertainment around the castle is scheduled and proper. There is something so charming about a group of people huddled around a marching band while characters dance around that was just so wonderful.





We didn't stay for the whole show, as it was crowded but we got a couple of good pictures of the characters.

Pluto and Donald spotted our camera and purposefully waved at us. Unfortunately, we got the shot just before the wave happened!



Mickey was the conductor and he looked very handsome in his white band outfit!





We got Mickey to look over our way too! We must have been doing something right that day (I can never normally get characters to look at me!)



We decided to have a quick peek in the Princess Fantasy Faire section recently opened next to the castle. Last time we were at Disneyland this was all just a construction zone so it was lovely to see it complete. It is a beautiful little area, though small which makes photos hard, especially when there are so many people about!











Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

We finally made our way into Fantasyland. We hadn't expected to do any of the dark rides (at that point Alice in Wonderland had the shortest wait at 40 minutes) at that time of the day, and to this day the only dark ride in Fantasyland (besides its a small world) we've ever managed is Peter Pans Flight (which we did in the next few days). However, I've never really wanted to prioritize these rides first thing in the morning, but I think on our next trip we really need to try them! Fantasyland is so beautiful but we didn't get anywhere near as many nice shots of it this trip as there were so many people around!









We didn't even go on the Haunted Mansion, why has a ghost followed me into this photo! Hehehe

Jared then tried very very hard to pull the sword from the stone but had no luck. Look at the effort!









Instead of waiting forever for any of the dark rides in Fantasyland we went to one of our favorite classic attractions at Disneyland, the tea cups. This area of the park is so beautiful and so classic! All other versions of the tea cups I've ever come across have not come close the beauty of this attraction. Sure its not practical as its not covered but that is half its charm. Now I've heard the cups at Disneyland Paris, with their clear roof, are a close match to the originals in beauty but since I havent seen them I will go so far as to say the original version is the most beautiful tea cup ride in the world! They also have sentimental value for Jared and I as they were one of the first attractions we ever did on our first visit to Disneyland on our honeymoon! Yes once again I took way too many photos of the cups! I just couldn't stop!











Next is a series of pictures of us on the teacups. Jared even worked out how to set the camera so we were in focus and the background blurred to show the spinning!








Another of my favourite photos of this trip!










Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

After our quick jaunt in Fantasyland (we thought about going on the Storybook Canal Boats and it’s a small world holiday but the wait was crazy for both rides) we made our way into the one area of Disneyland we’d never explored, Toon Town. I guess we’d never really felt the need to explore this kids area before but this trip was turning out to be a bit more about taking in all Disneyland has to offer rather than racing to each attraction before the lines got long, so we thought it was finally time to explore it. Aside from that I really wanted to meet Mickey again as I was getting rather fond of meeting my mousy friend. Finally we had about an hour before the first showing of Mickey and the Magical Map (which would be our last stop before breaking for the afternoon).

















Mickey’s Toontown was great! So much fun, so bright and colorful! Our luck with getting pictures of characters without having to wait in line by catching their attention with our camera continued, as I got Goofy to quickly glance my way between meetings.



When we got to Mickey’s house we were so excited to see that the wait to see him was only 10 minutes. We joined the queue quickly, not stopping to take in too much detail in the first few rooms of the house though it was really cute!

Disney’s wait times are usually pretty accurate if not a bit longer than you’re actual wait so we assumed we wouldn’t have to wait too long. However, the 10 minutes soon became almost 30 minutes. That made us quite a bit grumpy, especially after we walked out of the house to discover the wait time was still only listed at 15 minutes (very misleading). Our meeting with Mickey was great though. He noticed our anniversary buttons and congratulated us by jumping up and down in excitement.





We still arrived in plenty of time to the Fantasyland Theatre for Mickey and the Magical Map so we were able to get a good seat and all became right with the world again. I was really looking forward to this show, despite the middling reviews I’d read about it and I thoroughly enjoyed it too! I don’t think the story felt rehashed or done to death. I loved the song choices which included a number of great classic songs hardly used in other shows and though the premise of how each number fit the story was a little weak, I did love the story line. I especially love the part where the sorcerer explains to Mickey that the map will never be finished as long as there is imagination in the world. It’s such a Walt line, in fact it is his line about Disneyland, and hearing it made me well up a bit! I love the idea that we can achieve anything through faith and a little imagination!





























The show is truly a celebration of some great Disney moments. The dancers are wonderful, the sets are clever, beautiful and bright, and the story-line, while it reaches a little, is cute and so perfectly Disneyland ish. The part where the three princesses, Mulan, Rapunzel and Pocahontas sing their various songs together with the LCD screen background acting like a beautiful moving painting was so lovely. Jared and I love I see the light from Tangled and so the scene where Rapunzel and Flynn sing it while lanterns traverse the screen behind them made us all gooey inside! Definitely a great show that I’d see again!

After the show finished we were pretty much done for the morning, and given the throngs of people streaming into the park we knew it was about time to leave! I've never seen so many people in a theme park anywhere, even in Tokyo (though it was a fairly moderate crowd while we were there). We were pretty pleased with ourselves as the morning had been busy but totally manageable so we counted our touring strategy for Disneyland at one of its busiest times of the year a success! On our way out we decided to see if Space Mountain was back up and running and if FP’s were available for later that evening when we’d be back at the park. It was open again however since it had been shut most of the morning and the FP’s had not been available they were only offering passes for 2:30 – 3:30pm and we weren't going to stick around the insanely busy parks for another hour and half for a ride on Space Mountain. Instead we picked up some FP’s for Star Tours for 6:30 – 7:30pm, knowing we’d be cutting it close as our dinner reservation was at 6pm. Our thought was that it was better to have a FP than to not have one. We then headed out to lunch at the Heartstone Lounge again as I had to have another of those amazing flat breads and spend the afternoon happily napping in our very comfortable beds at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

Continued in next post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

After our relaxing afternoon we awoke and prepared to make our way back to Disneyland for our 6pm reservation at the Blue Bayou. We left the hotel in plenty of time however once we got to the Grand Californian I remembered I’d forgotten my tablet that I needed to take with dinner! Jared rushed back to the room to grab it while I waited and we headed off again still with, we thought, enough time to make our dinner reservation. That was before we encountered the Thanksgiving crowds. The lines to get into the park, even at 5:45pm, were well past the monorail. Then, once we got into Main Street the crowds were unbearable! So many people, it reminded me of Senso-Ji Temple in Japan! I think there must have just been a parade on Main Street just finishing because it was a mess of people and the cast members were out directing traffic. We may have been a little pushy and ignored the cattle batons they were holding as we knew we’d never make our reservation otherwise. This was the first time in any theme park that I’d experienced the crowds making the park unbearable and luckily it would be our last experience with such crowd.

We made it to the Blue Bayou at about 6:15 and apologized profusely for our lateness, the CM’s were very good about it though! We sat for a while to wait for our table and struck up a lovely conversation with a couple from Monterrey California who had actually been to Australia. And not only had they been to Australia, they had also been to Perth and the south west of Western Australia! We had a great chat with them about some of the places they’d visited until our table was ready. It is this opportunity to meet people and have conversations about life, travel and Disney that is one of the really enjoyable things about a Disney holiday. Most of the people who strike up a conversation with you are the ones who are Disney frequents and are trying to make you feel welcome or share their love of Disney with you. We had many of these types of conversations of the next few days and I cherished all of them!

This was our second time eating at the Blue Bayou. The first, on our previous trip in 2012, happened to coincide with an awful stomach problem I was having and I was neither hungry nor in the mood to be anywhere but a bed, but since we’d waited years to get to eat at the Blue Bayou (on our first trip to the resort we were very unprepared and hadn't made a reservation so of course, as much as we wanted to, couldn't get in to eat at the Blue Bayou). I remembered that the food wasn't wonderful though in hindsight that could have been a product of my sick stomach! This time round we had a great time. The atmosphere of this place is second to none and though the food was perhaps not the best we ate anywhere in the resort it was certainly much better than last time and had a few stand out elements. First was my salmon salad appetizer which was delicious and so fresh, and the second was the vanilla crème brulee I had for dessert, and the chocolate lava cake Jared had. The mains were ok, I believe I had pork and I think Jared had steak, nothing to write home about but not terrible either. The atmosphere of the place, however, was wonderful. Though I have a few photos they don’t really come close to capturing the magic of eating outside under the ‘stars’ on a Louisiana Bayou!







Since we were late for dinner we sadly missed our Star Tours FP and not being out and about in the parks we didn't have a chance to give them to anybody! We wanted to have a go on the illusive Space Mountain but alas it was down again! We took a few night pictures before leaving the park for the evening.



The castle does look beautiful at night!







We attempted to take our own photos in front of the castle as it was too busy for a Photopass photographer to be about. They turned out ok





The ones of Main Street were not as good. You really need a tripod and waay less people to pull these shots off!















We bid farewell to Disneyland for one night.

Continued in next post...

 

[redheadedmermaid73]

I just read your whole report! I'm loving it! I wish I had the time to go on a magnificent trip like that!

Also, my dream is to go to Australia! You're so lucky to live there!